Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory for Louisville Metro

by kespeland on August 28, 2008

Louisville Metro now has a baseline inventory of its greenhouse gas emissions. Knowing where it stands with those emissions will help city officials move forward with developing recommendations on how, and where, to cut those emissions. And they must move fast if they’re to meet the 2012 deadline agreed to under the terms of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement. Member cities are obligated to reduce their total level of greenhouse gas emissions by seven percent below what they were in 1990. Environmental consulting firm Trinity produced the inventory. Consultant Rich Pandullo says that seven percent goal is not as small as it may sound.

“Reaching the 7% reduction in emissions by 2012, compared to 1990, really is a fairly major challenge. Even for communities that are already implementing programs, it’s a big challenge,” Pandullo says.

The inventory reveals that greenhouse gas emissions in Louisville metro went up nearly 10% from where they stood in 1990. Now, city officials will use the inventory to complete a comprehensive list of recommendations for how to meet the 2012 goal. They plan to unveil those recommendations in March of next year.